So right now I'm replaying realMyst Masterpiece Edition while searching frantically for my Myst: Book of Black Ships comic book I seem to have misplaced and it got me thinking that there are so much more possibilities in the Myst timeline for non-sequel games. These could be tie-in games to the TV show depending what periods the show takes place in.

Here are some brainstorm ideas:

Darkmoon: The Prequel to Myst: Basically this game would be set prior to the events of Myst taking place mostly on Mechanical and a few of Atrus' ages like the Tide, Everdunes, Whiterock and Narayan. It would be about the brothers' conquest of ages at the helm of the Black Ship navy. This could be a way to explore more about the Black Ship culture (hopefully taking a lot of cues from the comic book since I LOVE the art style of the Black Ships and their villains). You would play a nameless protagonist who helps destroy the Black Ship fleet and foil the brothers, potentially leading them to their prison books.

Devokan: Tyranny of Myst: This would take place during BoD and would feature you, the stranger, aiding Atrus and the Averonese on Terahnee in unraveling the power of their empire. First uncovering their dirty secrets and then climaxing with the freeing of the slaves and the rebirth of the age as Devokan. Could work I believe. Plus, it would be a great visual tour-de-force as Terahnee is the ideal paradise age.

Blade: Empire of Myst: A bit of a fanfic idea, but what about a game centered around what has happened to the Moeity on Tay since the collapse of Riven? I thought it would be neat to show how interaction with the D'ni Empire has led the Moeity to great technological advancement and a quest for the Art. Taking place during Uru, the game would center around a nameless protagonist helping a descendant of Nelah uncover the current Moeity Queen's secret in becoming a powerful inter-age Empire like the D'ni. Could be great for Riven enthusiasts and way to develop the age of Tay and the Rivenese culture more deeply.

Eden: Myst Reborn: A hypothetical game taking place during the events of Book of Marrim with the stranger helping out Marrim and/or Atrus on Releeshahn. Could be a great way to introduce the player to the D'ni survivors and the mysterious age of Releeshahn.

Dusk: Eve of Myst: This would take place during the events of Book of Ti'Ana and would center around a nameless protagonist helping Anna and ultimately uncovering A'Gaeris' plot. The player would get to know Aitrus, Veovis and the great D'ni lords while exploring the entire city on the eve of its collapse.

Ink: Kingdom of Myst: A game taking place during the D'ni renaissance during the reign of Rakeri. The player would be an unnamed D'ni citizen engaging in the cultural debate of the era, religious confusion and outsider contact while helping Rakeri and/or Tevahr. This could show D'ni at its ancient opulent zenith and make the player engage in political intrigue all while showing the moral dilemma of imperialism and xenophobia.

Buried: War of Myst: This concept brings the player to the era of Ahlsendar during the Pento war. The player would be an outsider helping Ahlsendar regain the throne and foil the pento (using puzzles of course!). This could be a great action packed game showing D'ni in its darkest state.

So yeah, a bunch of ideas that I think would be cool in allowing us to visit the locations and characters we've read about and hopefully we'll encounter in the TV series.

Lol, Yali, I mean, the biggest missing chunk, where URU just doesn't cut it is whether or not this thing going forward is going to continue to hybridize platform gaming or retreat back to FIrst Person Point And Click.

Back before URU tried it I was all about that Mario 64 feeling but seeing how URU couldn't bridge the gap between Mario and MYST, maybe it's time to go back to first person and just stick to that,

Um, gameplay really is just the usual i suppose, although I'd love to see more character interaction and heavily populated areas (D'ni + ages). The point of my thread was more about potential stories and settings than gameplay.

I've always said if they're going to do something, it as to be something new. So exploring events of the books doesn't work for me. If the books were terrible, it might be another story, but the books are excellent, no need to redo them in game form if you ask me.

I think I like Ink, and Buried the most out of your ideas. Each would give us a lot of new information about the D'ni past. Plus all the political and religious turmoil could be very well received, especially in today's market.Eden could be a cool look at the future, but your description gives me little more than time. Blade might be cool, but I think you would have to know too much about the events of Riven in order for it to make sense to somebody not familiar with the series.

I cringe any time someone comes up with ‘suggestions’ for the next novel/movie/game/whatever in a given series, especially when they’re good, as that particular plot might then never be used by the authors. I’m not sure about the current Cyan’s policy, but the RAWA guidelines can suggest a similar attitude. Good thing you didn’t get into details

I’d rather make without all the Something of Myst in the titles. As for the game mechanics, Spaceship Warlock had an interesting way of interacting with characters (you could type your own phrases), which could be a puzzle in itself.

However, there’s the chance that Obduction is the beginning of a new unrelated series, which would then take precedence over the Myst one.

PS: there’s a copy of the comics at AllThingsUru (the first two books in the upper left).

Thanks! Honestly I'd hope and want them to steal these concepts, titles and all. So yeah, Cyan if you hear me, please steal my ideas! It would satisfy my desire for new Myst content, any content really.

I've always wanted to see more populated ages honestly. I was in fact dissapointed when I got to Riven and the villagers were all but absent. From the back of the box with the shot of Cho, I assumed Riven would be chock full of people. Also, nothing wrong with non-human races as well. One thing I loved about the Black Ships comic book was how alien it was. The characters, the costumes and the "Thrallls" who were these pink Star wars looking creatures.

I also love the idea of exploring a whole city with dark alleyways, temples, libraries and homes. Sneak into people's homes and find journals etc.

Also I agree that something new would definitely be more interesting. Out of the concepts I wrote, I think Darkmoon, Blade, Ink and Buried are my favorites. I think Blade would be really cool. I imagine a huge open world Tay with villages and cities. Actually, I'm drawing up a map of it right now:

It has been said many times that Gehn was a bad Writer; but if you think about it, the way he Wrote is actually quite sensible for someone without access to formal Guild education (beginner programmers do something like that), and should actually be safer than improvising. Had he had access to better sources like his son, he perhaps might have been good at it.Besides, he wrote Riven and Tay among other Ages, and while the former was beyond repairs, the latter was good enough to survive burning. And let’s not forget the Sanctuary, the stability of which is unknown; maybe it was good.

Oh! According to the Wiki, Tay WAS originally written by Ghen, but it was yet another failed attempt at Age writing. He burned the book. I guess his burning process wasn't very through, because Catherine later retrieved the book, and wrote Tay with it. So it is more properly Catherine's Age than Ghen's.

Fair point, but still shows progress: Riven took years of amending and still decayed, while Tay could be brought from a half-burned book to a stable one. If Gehn tested and burned it, it must have been more or less complete, and the main reason he burned his Books was that he couldn’t power them, so many of them might have been salvageable.

Moreover, the assessment of Gehn’s writing style comes from the Book of Atrus times. In Riven he has 30 years and ~200 Ages more experience; 233rd seemed more or less stable, if harsh, and 234th was ‘almost ready’.

What I don’t like about it is the unintended moral: Katran is lauded because she has natural talent and/or access to the best materials, while Gehn is ridiculed for learning through hard work and limited resources.

We unfortunately don't know much about Ghen's writing ability during that time. Did it truly progress as you suggest? We don't know. Riven, when first written, seemed stable as well. It WAS stable for a long time.Riven was written about 10 years before he began teaching Atrus. I don't remember if it was ever mentioned what number he was working on at that time, but Ghen had at least 10 years of experience (and who knows how many Ages) writing at that time.

Plus, the ridicule wasn't entirely because of his haphazard writing technique, but also had to do with his beliefs and mental health issues. He thought he was a god, actually creating the worlds he wrote.

I would also point out that he was the only one of this time to have actually received ANY D'ni training. Granted, it wasn't much, but it was more than either Atrus or Catherine received.

As for you assertion that Ghen didn't have good materials. You're right to the point of the time he's trapped on Riven. However, that didn't happen till 1774, about 20 years after he first returned to D'ni. So he had access to the same good materials for that entire time that Catherine and Atrus had later.

Ghen never struck me as the kind of person who could really learn from his mistakes. That goes for his relationships as well as his writing. Ghen has LOTS of issues, his writing technique the least of them. For me, the ridicule is justified.